4082 Swann, provisional designation 1984 SW3, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter.
Swann orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,349 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.26 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] First identified as 1947UF at the Finnish Turku Observatory in 1947, Swann's observation arc was extended by 37 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[9]
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Swann measures 9.5 and 11.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.029 and 0.101, respectively.[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link, however, assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and derives a much smaller diameter of 5.85 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 13.46.[3]
Rotation period
In July 2006, a rotational lightcurve of Swann was obtained from photometric observations by Petr Pravec at the Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic. It gave a rotation period of 4.03632±0.00009 hours with a brightness variation of 0.67 magnitude (U=3).[a] A second lightcurve obtained by Jean-Gabriel Bosch in September 2006, gave a period of 4.1±0.1 hours and an amplitude of 0.35 magnitude (U=2).[6]
Naming
This minor planet was named after American geologist Gordon A. Swann (born 1931). He served as the principal investigator of the "Apollo Lunar Geologic Experiment" conducted at the lunar landing sites of Apollo 14 and Apollo 15.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 12 December 1989 (M.P.C. 15576).[10]
